Strawberry Ice: A fusion universe
by shanejayell
Summary: Part One: At Shizuma's club you can find almost anything... but will Ami Mizuno find love? Part Two: Rei Hino wants to escape the Christmas play... Chikaru Minamoto has other ideas.
1. Strawberry Ice

Disclaimer: I own none of the Sailor Moon or Strawberry Panic characters and profit in no way from this fanfiction. Don't try to sue me, I'm broke anyway.

Strawberry Ice: A Sailor Moon/Strawberry Panic crossover

"I'm sorry," the blond woman admitted, her hair falling around her face as the college professor continued, "you're very charming, Ami. But...."

"I understand," Ami Mizuno smiled wryly as the twenty year old student apologized to the older woman. With a sigh she sat down, stirring her drink with the toothpick. 'There goes another blind date,' she thought to herself wryly as she watched the other woman walk away.

Ever since Ami could remember she had been a focused, intelligent woman who tackled problems with care and deliberation. When she had come to realize her crushes on other women were both stronger and more persistent than the average, she approached that situation with the same thoroughness. After doing the appropriate research she determined her sexuality and a plan of action and then embarked on it.

First, she came out to her mother, who took it surprisingly well. It helped that she had already developed certain suspicions about her daughter, of course. As she quite reasonably pointed out, wearing boyish vests and pants most of the time was a hint, as well as the near complete absence of boys in her life.

Next, Ami came out to the Sailor Senshi. That was a little more complicated, though thankfully they had Haruka and Michiru as good examples. It took a few tries to explain it all to Usagi, but once she got it Usagi was innocently happy for Ami and hoped she'd find someone to love. The rest of the group took it fairly well, the only odd moment coming when Minako tried to seduce her. Not that Ami found her unattractive, but she also didn't think the flighty Senshi of love was very serious.

Finally, Ami decided to start looking for a partner. In a way that was harder than the rest combined, as she was a younger woman and frankly much smarter than her peers. Dating in high school would be further complicated if she was asking other women out, so Ami decided that was out. After some research she found a few organizations to connect highly intelligent people, and eventually tracked down one that would pair up same gender matches.

'Too bad this hasn't worked out as well as I'd like,' Ami sighed. While she had found several new friends, most of the women in the group had been well older than her, which was in many cases a insurmountable issue in dating. Not on Ami's side, frankly, but several of the ladies seemed uncomfortable dating a woman the same age of their daughters.

The Strawberry was a nightclub in Akihabara, one of those places that didn't advertise. You found out about it via the friend of a friend network, and the staff quickly decided if you fit in or not. If you did fit they'd welcome you like a sister, but if you created problems or hurt someone, you'd be frozen out like a glacier.

Shizuma Hanazono smiled warmly as the manager circled through the crowded club, women talking standing up or sitting at the cozy tables. She smiled a bit more wryly as she reached Ami's table, "I see your companion left?"

Ami smiled up at the silver haired woman, "It seems so. I suppose you wouldn't have any suggestions what to do for the evening?"

Shizuma looked amused, "Don't flirt, Miss Mizuno. You might find this old dog still has some bite left."

Ami chuckled softly, "I'm sure Nagisa is well aware of your bite."

Shizuma and Nagisa were partners in the club as well as lovers, having met at a all girls school. They had made the brave decision then to stay together, and with time and effort had built a life they could share in this nightclub and elsewhere. Shizuma and Negisa shared hostessing duties as well as managed the place, serving a high class sort of client who wouldn't be seen in the dingy lesbian clubs in the other parts of town.

Shizuma smirked, "Grrr." With a somewhat more serious look she added, "I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

"Oh?" Ami kept her voice as neutral as possible. Nagisa, and occasionally Shizuma, weren't above doing a bit of matchmaking, and had put Ami together once or twice with completely inappropriate women. Nice, but not at all her type.

Shizuma looked amused, "It's not a trap." She shrugged, "A customer I know off and on is here alone, and her prospective date didn't turn up. I think she could use some company."

Ami gave her a wry smile, but she did think she owed the older woman a favor. "All right," she conceded as she got up, "but just to keep her company. Okay?"

"Okay," Shizuma agreed.

The dark blue haired woman was around Nagisa's age, in her late twenties. She seemed intelligent on first glance, her eyes warmly amused as she watched the women around her. She looked up questioningly as Shizuma approached, "Yes?"

"Tamao," Shizuma smiled faintly as she continued, "I hope you don't mind, but Nagisa mentioned your situation. Ami here has also been deserted by her date, and I was wondering if you could keep her company?"

"But...," Tamao Suzumi frowned slightly.

Shizuma gave her a teasing look, "As a favor to me?"

Ami opened her mouth to protest, but Shizuma pinched her side to shush her.

"Oh, all right," Tamao made a face as Shizuma pulled out the chair, "but just to keep her company."

"Thank you," Ami said as she sat down, Shizuma leaving them to get acquainted.

"You have the oddest smile on your face," Tamao noted after a moment, her own expression amused. "I'm Tamao Suzumi."

"Ami Mizuno," Ami offered her hand and the two women shook. "I was smiling," she admitted, "because Shizuma used the keeping a friend company line on me too."

Tamao looked more amused, if that was possible. "Do you think she's matchmaking?" she asked Ami seriously.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Ami admitted. But she didn't get up and leave the table, possibly because of the humor in the other woman's expression.

:This is kind of my fault," Tamao admitted wryly. "Shizuma and I... kind of competed for the same girl a few years back. She won, but I think she still feels a little guilty about it...."

'Nagisa, probably,' Ami mentally noted. "Well, if it's your fault you can buy the first round of drinks," Ami offered mildly.

"Oooh, no fair," Tamao laughed as they flagged down a waitress.

"All's fair in love and war," Ami quoted as they settled down to talk.

Ami was pleasantly surprised as they talked how intelligent and charming Tamao was. She was well aquainted with current events, was sharp witted and observant and had a lively sense of humor. She also had a series of school stories that were funny enough to make tears come to Ami's eyes.

"You didn't!" Ami blurted at one point.

"Yup," Tamao laughed merrily, "I had a little black book with the measurements of the girls I had crushes on." She grinned, "I was lucky most of my crushes have been good sports about it."

"Sometimes I really wish I had gone to a all girls school," Ami admitted with a chuckle.

Tamao gave her a thoughtful look, "You'd have been popular, I think. You have this sort of boyish charm about you...."

Ami blushed slightly. "Trust me, it's not intentional," she confessed.

"That's what makes you so charming," Tamao admitted, laughing softly. He looked down at the food they had ordered, then up at Ami, "Ami, I...."

"Tamao, I...." Ami started at the same time, then they both laughed. "I really enjoyed meeting you tonight," she admitted, "could we... do this again?"

Tamao smiled back warmly, "That's what I was going to ask." She hesitated, "Uhm... how old are you, exactly?"

"Twenty," Ami admitted sheepishly.

"Twenty eight," Tamao shrugged, "and that's not too bad. At least I won't be accused of being a cradle robber."

Ami sighed, "Now I just have to convince my friends I don't have a fetish for older women...."

End?

Notes: Yes, I'm moving Strawberry Panic into the past a bit, relative to Sailor Moon. I don't recall anything in the SP series that would say when it was set, unlike Sailor Moon, and both don't feature much high tech anyway. I was originally planning to set this in Arisugawa's Locket, but it occurred to me it might be interesting to have two anime bars in Tokyo. Beside which, this is a seperate canon than the usual Arisugawa stories.

I've always liked Tamao and felt she got the worst end in SP. Well, okay, she could have died but... it was a pretty bad end, abandoned at the altar so to speak. She also seemed a better match for Nagisa, IMHO, and I don't have much hope for Nagisa and Shizuma lasting. Part of why I had Shizuma matchmaking was to get Tamao out of the way as a temptation for Nagisa... ^_~

Why Ami? IMHO Ami has always come across as a woman who didn't know her sexuality. She's attracted to guys for their brains, in canon, but is closer to her female friends. And she dresses like a baby dyke. Lol. I see her looking into older women because of her own maturity compared to people her own age, as well as her relative intelligence.


	2. Sailor Christmas

Note: Edited from first draft to bring it more in line with the first chapter.

Sailor Christmas

The black haired Catholic schoolgirl Rei Hino sighed to herself slightly, dampening the noise enough that the students working on the Christmas play couldn't hear. Raised in a Shinto shrine and having experienced strange and bizarre events and creatures as Sailor Mars, she often found it hard to take seriously the rites and traditions of the school.

Still, there were things that Rei liked about attending at this school. The Nuns held her in high regard, the schoolgirls liked her and except for the Minako incident she had a unsullied school record. When the time came to move on to college, Rei had a clear road ahead of her.

'Now, if I can just get through another Christmas,' Rei sighed to herself softly as she walked through the theater to the stage.

"Miss Rei," one of the women clambering about working the lighting smiled, "you got my message!"

"I did," Rei answered neutrally as she studied Chikaru Minamoto, the beautiful and serene head of the Theater Department. The black haired woman was known for the two red bows she wore on either side of her head, as well as her near obsession with cosplay. She had arrived as a teacher just last year, replacing a retiring nun, and had quickly shaken up the whole school.

Chikaru looked amused as she climbed down the ladder, the smaller woman's stylish skirt clinging to her thighs. "You aren't going to inquire why I asked to see you?' she asked.

Rei looked out at the actresses who were working on the play, "I assume you'll tell me."

"You're so cruel, Rei," Chikaru sighed dramatically. She looked up at Rei as she said, "You couldn't just smile for me a little, Rei?"

Rei couldn't help a small smile in return as she answered her mildly, "Ma'am, if I give a inch you take a mile. The last time I agreed to help you with a 'little thing' I ended up in concert in front of the entire school. In a hideous costume."

Chikaru smiled back sweetly as she noted, "I thought the costume was quite charming."

Rei grit her teeth silently. The costume might have been charming on someone smaller and more sweet in personality, but on her it had looked ridiculous. It had been slow torture to be up there singing in that candyfloss costume, and she had no intention of doing anything like it again.

"Maybe a tuxedo would have been better," Chikaru conceded after a moment.

Rei opened her mouth to protest THAT idea, then shut it with a snap. She was well aware of the girls who had crushes on her, not to mention a few of the Nuns! If she had appeared on stage in a suit, Rei was certain that a riot might have broken out.

"We're planing a play for the Christmas show this year," Chikaru said mildly.

Rei quickly blurted out, "NO!"

Chikaru ignored that and calmly continued on, "And I wanted to ask if you would play a small role in the production."

"No," Rei repeated then, despite her better judgement, had to ask, "How small a role?"

"The prince who rescues the princess with a kiss," Chikaru explained cheerfully, "we're doing a Christmas adaption of sleeping beauty."

"That's...," Rei blinked, digesting that idea. It might not be too bad if handled tactfully, but if played badly the Sisters would throw a fit. "You could get in a lot of trouble with the nuns if you do this wrong," she cautioned thoughtfully.

Chikaru nodded with a somewhat more serious look as the slightly older woman said, "Exactly. That's why I need your help, Rei."

Rei hesitated, then shook her head firmly. "No, sorry, but no," she said as she turned and strode out of the small theater.

"I thought she was going to say yes," a girl murmured from where she had been watching from the shadows.

Chikaru smiled back calmly, "Oh, she will. It's just a matter of time."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The next few days were a mild does of hell. Chikaru had leaked the news that Rei was going to be the prince, and the entire student body was all for it. She had girls gushing and squeeing wherever she went, many of them demanding if the princess role was still open. Even some of the NUNS were getting into the act!

Rei stalked into the dark theater, marching up to Chikaru as conversations stopped and everyone watched her worriedly. "Yes?" Chikaru asked sweetly.

Rei growled, "You're despicable."

Chikaru actually curtsied to Rei a bit as she said, "Why, thank you."

Rei cracked a smile reluctantly as she said, "We have to get you using your powers for good rather than evil, ma'am." She sighed and added, "If I hadn't carried through with preforming I think I would have been hung."

"I don't think they would have done that," Chikaru chuckled warmly. "Though I admit things would have been uncomfortable for you..."

The two walked down towards the brightly lit stage as Rei asked the teacher, "So who is the princess going to be?"

"Kagome Byakudan," Chikaru said, nodding to the brown haired girl emoting up on the stage.

Kagome Byakudan was one of Chikaru's success stories in the theater club. Formerly a shy girl who was small for her age, Chikaru had helped her build up her self confidence through acting. And while Kagome was small, she had begun to fill out nicely over the past year. She was actually a bit older than Rei, and was graduating this year.

"So Kagome eats the apple," Chikaru noted as they watched as the actresses played out the part on stage, "or drinks a poisoned cup of wine, we haven't decided. Then she falls into a deathly sleep until her prince awakens her."

Kagome crumpled to the floor, her brown hair falling around her as her attendants laid her out on a bed. Without thinking about it Rei jumped onto the stage, striding towards where Kagome lay as she asked briskly, "What's my line?"

"Let's see," Chikaru flipped through a script then she read it out.

"Fair princess," Rei knelt down by the sleeping Kagome as she declared, "you sleep like the dead itself. Woe, that our love cannot be realized!"

All the girls on stage were nearly entranced by Rei. 'God, when she turns it on she's nearly irresistible,' Chikaru thought, the teacher feeling more than a bit stunned by Rei's presence too, 'this is going to be the best Christmas show ever!'

"Fair maiden," Rei brushed aside Kagome's hair as she brought their faces closer, "as the fairies said, let true love's kiss awaken you once more." Rei tilted her head and kissed her cheek, knowing from a distance it would look like a lip lock.

"Oooh!" one lighting girl squealed.

Kagome's eyes popped open, LOOKING JUST a bit disappointed at not getting kissed as she met Rei's eyes. "Oh, my prince!" she declared, "You have broken the evil witch's spell!"

Rei helped Kagome stand up as the smaller girl looked up at her adoringly. 'Oh no,' Rei sighed to herself mentally. "Fair princess, I am glad you are well," she declared, holding the girl close but not too close.

That act of chivalry was swiftly undone by Kagome, who cuddled very close. "My prince," she sighed happily, "may we never be parted."

Chikaru clapped her hands and smirked as she saw Kagome aggressively cuddling Rei. "We ought to end right there," she said happily, "it'd be a instant hit!"

"The teachers would have a fit," Rei shot back as the tried to think of a polite way to pry the cute girl off her. Not that it didn't feel good but...

Kagome pulled back on her own, looking up at Rei with a warm smile. "I'm sorry Miss Hino," she bowed a bit, "but the script called for it."

'Knowing Chikaru it probably was spelled out in the script,' Rei mused. "It's all right," she reassured the smaller woman, "I kind of liked it."

"Really!" Kagome squealed happily.

Rei paled, 'Oh hell, how do I get out of this...?'

End.

Notes: In Sailor Moon's manga canon, Rei is kinda a chick magnet in her Catholic school. When Minako invades the school she finds Rei in a very yuri-ish situation as the admired upperclassman of several younger girls. Not to mention Rei and Minako kissing at one point. I just moved some of the Strawberry Panic students over to Rei's school...


	3. Strawberry Ice Two

Strawberry Ice

Three

Chikaru Minamoto smiled across the bar at her friend Nagisa, both laughing as they exchanged stories. "You didn't!" Nagisa sounded scandalized.

The Strawberry was busy tonight, women in various outfits talking and drinking merrily around the nightclub. Ami Mizuno and Tamao were having their third or fourth date, and seemed to be getting along lovely. Several other regulars were at the various tables, and the mood around the club was light.

"I did," Chikaru admitted. "And leaking that I wanted Rei as the prince worked like a charm, she caved in a few days."

"You are evil," Nagisa chuckled, refilling her glass.

"That's what Rei Hino says," Chikaru agreed. She took a drink, savoring the cocktail as she mused, "I hope I haven't scared her away."

Nagisa looked at her thoughtfully, remembering Chikaru's long reputation as the only straight girl in their school days. "So," she said cautiously, "you like her?"

"Not like that," Chikaru waved that off calmly, "but she'd be a incredible actress, if I can convince her to continue with it."

"I'm not sure blackmail was quite the way to start," Nagisa noted wryly.

Chikaru nodded, conceding the point. "Still, I think she's been enjoying the rehearsals. If I can just get her more interested...," she mused.

Nagisa smiled, moving off and letting her plot in peace.

Ami Mizuno smiled at Tamao as they talked, once again finding the slightly older woman quite charming. She was a writer, primarily fiction and poetry, and had recently gotten her third novel published. Not wanting to ask her for a copy Ami went out and bought it, and was faintly surprised at how good it was.

"So how did your friends react?" Tamao asked curiously. The two of them had been out together when they ran into Ami's friends, who had been rather startled at her dating a older woman.

"Not too badly," Ami chuckled, stirring her soda with the swizzle straw. "I think it helped that we've known Michiru and Haruka for years," she added thoughtfully.

"I'm still nervous about meeting your mother," Tamao admitted ruefully.

"She took my coming out quite well," Ami offered.

"As a mental excersize,' Tamao nodded, "but I'm the woman who is considering having carnal relations with her daughter. That's a entirely different thing."

"Carnal relations?" Ami looked amused.

"So I have a vocabulary," Tamao chuckled.

"Speaking of vocabulary," Ami hesitated then said, "I read your books."

"Oh geeze," Tamao sighed, blushing.

Ami bit back a chuckle at how cute Tamao looked, blushing. "You're very good, I think," she said honestly. "I was rather surprised at your having two women as a couple in the second book of your series," she added.

'I wanted them to have a bigger role," Tamao admitted as she fiddled with her own drink, "but the publisher wasn't happy about it. A writer friend of mine suggested not pushing too hard until I had a few more books under my belt."

"That kind of compromise wasn't easy?" Ami asked perceptively.

"No it wasn't," Tamao agreed with a slight shrug, "but on the other hand I got my books published, I have a second trilogy in the works, and this time I get to have more freedom in what I write."

"Good," Ami smiled, "I'll be looking forward to reading them."

"I'll let you look at the first drafts," Tamao promised. She paused, "God, that sounded like would you like to come up and see my etchings."

Ami snickered, "We're both too young for that line." She finished off her soda, "And that reminds me, when am I going to see where you live?"

"It's not like we've had much chance yet," Tamao protested. She smiled slightly, "Besides, I thought it was better if we met somewhere neutral to start with."

"Then maybe you should take me up to see your etchings?" Ami winked.

Tamao finished her own drink and waved for Nagisa or another waitress. "Let's settle up the bill and go, then," she decided.

Shizuma Hanazono took the request herself, the naturally white haired woman smiling at them both. "Did you have a good time tonight?" she asked as they rang up the bill.

"Yes, I did," Ami agreed cheerfully, while Tamao was a bit more guarded.

Shizuma bit back a sigh, but kept the cheerful smile on her face. Tamao had forgiven her for winning their mutual love, Nagisa, but there was still a stiffness between them. Shizuma would have liked them to be friends, but it seemed that was harder than she hoped.

"Thank you for coming," Shizuma said as they left, watching them go with a certain degree of satisfaction.

Shizuma liked to dabble in matchmaking, when she could, and this time she felt she had hit on a good combination. Ami and Tamao were both smart and perceptive young women, the only difficulty being their different ages. And from what she had seen, Ami's maturity was making up for that.

Turning back to the club Shizuma did the rounds, greeting regulars and smiling at those she considered friends. As popular as this club was for being refined and civilized, a large chunk of it's popularity came from the warm, friendly atmosphere, one she and Nagisa worked hard to maintain.

"Hey, Shizuma," Nenene Sumerigawa smiled, the brown haired author nodding to the older woman familiarly. The young woman liked to drink at the club in between times her girlfriend, Yomiko, was in town.

"Nenene," Shizuma nodded politely, "I read your latest. Good work."

"Eh, it was okay," Nenene waved it off. "Did I just see Tamao in here?"

Shizuma hesitated but didn't see the harm in answering, "Yes, I think so."

"Good kid," Nenene noted even though she was actually younger than her. Still, Nenene had been published a lot longer. "And it's good to see her dating someone, even if it's cradle robbing," she said cheerily.

"I think some people would call you and Yomiko cradle robbing," Shizuma teased, "with her the cradle robber."

Nenene snorted in amusement, "Hey, I had to kiss her first! And it took months to get through to her that I was serious..."

Shizuma laughed, nodding. She'd MET Yomiko a few times, a more sweet and clueless woman you couldn't find. "Well, have a good night," she told her, and headed up to the bar.

Nagisa was serving drinks as she talked with a black haired woman, and her face positively lit up as she saw Shizuma. The white haired woman once again felt that happy flutter of joy in her gut, honored that it was her inspiring that expression. She reached the counter then Shizuma leaned forward to press her lips to Nagisa's.

"Hmm," Nagisa leaned into the kiss a moment, then seemed to realize they were in public and pulled back with a blush.

"Missed you," Shizuma murmured to her quietly.

"Don't let me stop you," Chikaru noted, smirking.

"Good to see you, Chikaru," Shizuma nodded to her respectfully. They hadn't exactly been friends, back in their school days, but she respected the woman immensely. They hadn't called her the 'Shadow Empress' for nothing, after all.

"And you," Chikaru nodded with a sly smile. "It's nice to see you two so firmly in love, it's a inspiration for us all."

Shizuma tried to decide if she was being sarcastic or not, but her tone was entirely mild. "Thank you," she decided to answer. "And how goes the teaching?"

"I was just talking to Nagisa about it," Chikaru acknowledged with a sigh, "I think I may have messed up badly."

"Oh?" Shizuma asked, and Chikaru filled her in on her encounters with the sultry Rei Hino.

Listening to her talk Shizuma wondered if Chikaru realized the kinds of words she was using to describe the girl. Sultry, smoldering, dynamic, striking and so on and so forth. It seemed the young woman had struck quite a chord, even if Chikaru was seemingly unaware of it.

'Maybe Chikaru is just vulnerable to the tall, dark and handsome type?' Shizuma mused to herself whimsically.

(Another universe over Hazuki Azuma sneezed suddenly.

"Are you all right?" that universe's Chikaru asked, cuddling beside her on the bed.

"I dunno, I guess someone was talking about me?" Hazuki shrugged, smiling shyly.)

"So what do you think?" Chikaru asked as Shizuma sat beside her at the bar.

Deciding putting it in different terms might be good Shizuma answered, "I think you went for a short term goal without realizing it might hurt you long term."

"Tricking Rei into acting," Chikaru nodded, "but my tricking her may have put her off for good. So how do I fix this?"

"It's not going to be easy,' Nagisa noted quietly as she poured a drink for her lover.

"She's right," Shizuma agreed, nodding. She leaned forward, "Are you serious about patching it up with this girl?"

"I am," Chikaru nodded, waiting for Shizuma's suggestion.

"You're going to have to win her over gradually," Shizuma said seriously. "No tricks, no manipulations, but positive reinforcement and support," she shrugged.

"You have to convince her that tricking her was out of character," Nagisa saw where she was going, "and that you have a good character."

"That's not going to be easy," Chikaru said quietly, "I'll be fighting against the force of habits developed over years."

"Is she worth it?" Shizuma challenged her.

Chikaru looked off into the distance, her expression thoughtful. "I think so..."

To be continued...

Notes: The Hazuki/Chikaru bit is a shout out to Suzume CA's stories on Fanfiction dot net. Red Bows in her Hair, Hand Me Downs and Strange Fire are all excellent fics, and I strongly recommend them.


End file.
